Signaling mechanism for trains



C. E. BECKWITH, DECD. M- L. BECKWITH, ADMINISTRATRIX. SIGNALINGMECHANISM FOR, TRAINS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 26. me. Q 1 ,709, Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I t Mfiksaes: 1771/6/7/0/2' C. E. BECKWITH, DECD. M- L,BECKWITH, ADMINISTRATRIX- SIGNALING MECHANISM FOR TRAINS. APIPLICATIONFILED OCT-26. me.

1 349, 70 9 Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- M we)". [I Zaczfdifi,

WWW

UNITED STATES PATENT oFElcE.

CHARLES E. BECKWITH, or rnomainmivois; MAME L. B Ec wrrn Anmaismmmx onSAID CHARLES E. BECKWITH, DECEASED.

SIGNALING MECHANISM FOR TRAINS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 1 7,

Application filed October 26, 1916. Serial No. 127,87 2.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLESE. BECK- WITH, citizen of the United States,residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Signaling MechanisIn forTrains; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to mechanism for automatically sounding an alarm.It relates more particularly, however, to mechanism forautomaticallyoperating a signal on a moving train by a device temporarily placed onthe rail.

The primary object of the invention is to furnish mechanism forautomatically sounding an alarm or otherwise attracting the attentionoi. the engineerof a moving train whereby to cause him to keep a lookoutfor danger, or to bring his trainto a stop.

Another object is to provide a new and novel. form of mechanism forcausing a sig nal to be sounded or shown on the locomotive, suchmechanism including a jointed lever suspended above the rail in positionto meet a trip temporarily placed on the latter, for sounding or showingthe signal, said lever adapted to break or pass over obstacles in itspath not intended to cause the operation of the signal.

Another object is to produce. mechanism by which to sound a signal orotherwise attract the attention of the engineer oi a moving train, saidmeclianisn including means by which the signal will be produced for amore or less extended length of time after actual operation hasoccurred, the mechanism being reset automatically for a succeedingoperation.

Another object is to produce a trip for attachment to the rail, the samehaving a peculiar and novel construction.

In addition, one of the objects isto supplement the form of apparatusshown in my copending application No. 110,817, filed July 24, 1916.

To the end that my invention may be understood, '1 have provided theaccompanying drawings, in which letters and figures of referencecorrespond.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a part of a locomotive, showing my inventionapplied thereto.

Fig.2 is a vertical, longitudinal section of the apparatus, on a largerscale, shown in position above the rail.

Fig. is a detail of part of a jointed lever shown on a larger scale thanthat shown inFig. 2.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of part of the mechanism shown in Fig.2 on a much larger scale.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a trip adapted for attachment to therailway rail.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the same, part being shown in section 011line (.t-CL, Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a plan of the same. I

A represents one of the forward trucks of. a locomotive and 13represents a suitable bracket secured to one of the journals C, forexample, of said trucks, and it is to be understood that my mechanismmay be placed 011 either the front or rear truck, or both. Secured tothe under side of the bracket is a depending hollow member Dconstituting an inclosure or housing for mechanism now to be described.

E is a lever or arm pivoted within said inclosure or housing, beingsuspended so as to swing parallel to the rail on a pivot F, for example.The lower end of the lever is bifurcated as shown in Fig. 4, therebyproducingspaced arms G. Each arm G is thickened and presents a shoulderH at itsupper portion, Figs. 3 and 4, each of which is provided with anotch J. K is a member which I term a trigger which lies between thearms G, being pivotally held therein by means of asuitable pin L. Saidtrigger is provided with a slot M disposed substantially in a verticalline when thotrigger hanging in its normal position or position of restshown in full lines in Fig. 2. At its upper portion the trigger has anextension denoted by the reference character N provided with a pin 0projecting from each side thereof, Fig. i, the extended ends adapted toengage or lie in. the notches J, it being observed that the slot M willpermit the trigger to lift whereby said pin 0 may be carried out of thesaid notches on occasion.

The trigger preferably takes the form of a hook at its lower extremitywhich ex tends in the direction of travel, the plane of which ispreferably parallel to said direction of travel. The upper portion ofthe trigger is provided with an extension P to overhang the hook, thepurpose of which will be stated later herein.

Beneath the under surface of the described bracket B, and adjoining themember D, is a cylinder Q closed at one end and separated into twocompartments R, S, by means of a wall or diaphragm T and the other endof the cylinder is closed preferably by a screwplug U. V is a valve-stemcarrying a valve W adapted to engage in a valve-seat 2 in the said'wallor diaphragm T. An expansion spring 3 is interposed between the plug Uand the valve WV and serves to carry the valve upon its said seat. Oneend of the valve-stem is guided in a recess 4; in the plug U and itsopposite end extends through the end wall of the cylinder and theadjacent wall of the member D and bears against the lever E,substantially as shown, and an expansion spring 5 is interposed betweenthe said wall and the said lever.

' 6 is a pipe connected with the air line 7 of the train andconnectedinto the compartment R by a suitable flexible connection 8 .ofthecylinder Q. A second pipe 9 is connected into the compartment S, andits other end may connect with a flexible connection 10 in turnconnected to a pipe 11 terminating within the engine cab in a whistle 12or a device'of any other type for operating any other form of signal.The valvestem V is so constructed that when the valve N is opened airmay readily pass from the compartment R to the compartment S. Pivoted onthe lever E isacylinder 13 open at one end. The closed end is providedwith an aperture 14. 15 is a piston loosely connected to a thread-bar 16carried by the member D. For convenience it may extend through the wallof said member, as shown, and may be provided with a nut 17 throughwhich the thread-bar 16 extends and by which in the adjustment of saidnut the said thread-bar may be given a longitudinal movement in thedirection of the said cylinder 13. The disposal of these several partsrelatively is such that as the lever E swings on its pivot F the saidcylinder and said piston will properly perform their functions to bedescribed.

18 indicates the rail and 19 is a trip detachably mounted thereon. Thistakes the form of a wire loop, preferably, but may be of some otherpreferred or convenient form. In the form shown, however, Figs. 6 and 7,the trip includes a spring 20 adapt ed to be sprung or clipped over thehead of the rail and 21 indicates a loop of moderately stiff spring wirewhose ends are bent as shown most clearly in Fig. 7. That is to say, theloop is in the form of an inverted U. Its extremities are bent outwardlyfrom the plane of the loop as 22, thence being bent substantially atright angles to the plane. of said loop as at 23, theme being bentupwardly and back in the direction of the said loop as at 2%, and thencebeing recurved downwardly and outwardly away from said loop into theterminal ends 25 lying substantially in line with the part 23 to restupon the rail. The space between the bends 22 and at at their bases isof a width to just receive the spring 20, which is preferably flat, andthe measurement between the pertions of the wire at said bends isnarrower than the spring so that the latter in order to seat in theposition shown must be snapped in place by passing said bends whichsecure it firmly, the assembled parts being thoroughly rigid relatively.The loop 21 has a vertical position, in use, and lies in the path of thesuspended trigger K as shown in Fig. 2. As the latter in its travelmeets and engages the loop the lever E is drawn rearwardly or rather isretarded in its progressive movement with the locomotive and, in efiect, the trigger is practically attached to the rail until the pull ofaid trigger is sufficient to jerk the. trip from the rail, whereupon theaction now to be described is terminated.

As the lever thus swings on its pivot it opens the valve V against thepressure of the springs 3 and 5 and permits the air under pressure inthe compartment R to pass into the compartment S. The trip now beingjerked or pulled from the rail and the pull on the lever thus havingtern'iinatml. the springs assert themselves to close the valve andreturn the lever to its normal position or position of rest.

It is desirable that the sounding signal may be heard, or ii a form oisignal that is visible one, that may be observed. for an appreciablelength of time in order that notice to the occupants of the engine cabwill be certain. That is to say, if a sounding signal it must be heardover all noises of the engine and should preferably sound for a numberof seconds at least. Ii? it be a visible signal it should be shown in aconspicuous position for some little time in order that it shall becertain to attract attention.

In order that this result may be best realized I have provided thedescribed cylinder 13 and its piston 15.

hen the lever E is moved to open the valve the cylinder is moved withit. the piston, of course, remaining stationary. Air is thereby drawninto the cylinder through its aperture 14; during the movement of thelever. The springs 3 and 5 will be somewhat checked in their effort toclose the valve. and the return of the lever to its normal position willbe slow, due to the slow egress menace of air. In consequence, the airpasses for a longer time to. the signal. It is clear that the smalldiameter of the aperture 14 as compared to that of the cylinder-bore,together with the capacity of said cylinder, governs the time of closingthe valve.

The piston may be ofsuch a type that in addition to the provision of theaperture 14 the outer air may pass by it as the air within the cylinderbecomes rarefied as that member is moved by the triggerto open the valveW. The speed of movement of the air into the cylinder may be thus easilygoverned so that the vacuum tending to form will be quickly overcome.Thisis by reason of the ex tremely strong pull on the trigger and theforce with which the air will enter to fill said vacuum. However, withthe relatively weaker force set up bythe springs 3 and 5 the lever Ewill but slowly return to its normal position with the cylinder as theair is gradually forced from said aperture.

The position of the piston may be adjusted by means of the nut 17 withrelation to the cylinder so that the capacity of the latter may bechanged at will and thus either shorten or extend the time of airmovement. Other means may be used to retard. the closing movement of thevalve W, however, but the mechanism described for this purpose yieldsexcellent results.

The extension P of the trigger K prevents obstructions other than thetrip from engaging the hook of said trigger so that the signal will notbe operated. Since said ex. tension projects over the hook and slightlyforward of it the trigger will be swung bodily upward carrying its hookaway from the obstruction without catching thereon and the space betweenthe extension and the extremity of the hook is Such as to allow nothingto engage said hook except the trip provided for that purpose. In otherwords, it is my design that the trigger will drag over anything otherthanthat intended to operate the signah In order that a breaking of thelevermay result at such times I provide the described structure shown inFigs. 3 and 4:.

A quick blow upon the trigger such as would be caused by meeting anobstruction will cause the pin 0 to be lifted out of the notches Ppermitting the trigger to swing upward on its pivot, without moving thelever E to open the valve W.

The purpose of the structure last referred to is that the trigger willhave no tendency to swing freely on its pivot as might be caused by thejarring or swaying of the trucks carrying it, the mentioned pin Onormally resting in the notches J so that the trigger will retain afixed position always ready to engage the trip. After striking anobstruction not intended for signaling purposes the trigger having beenraised returns to be connected.

by gravity to its proper trip-engaging position.

The extremity of the said extension P is carried down near the extremityof the hook tend torebound said upturned extremity will prevent thetrigger from. leaving the trip after having once engaged it.

I have indicated the trigger in two extremes of its position by thedotted lines a, 7),

in Fig. 2. In the position shown at 7) the trigger has been swung upwarddue to meeting an obstruction as the train moves ahead.

In the position a the movement is exactly opposite due to the trainmoving in the opposite direction.

One of the springs 3, 5- may be eliminated. of course, and but one willsullice when of theproper strength and degree of expansion.

Whether or not the lever E breaks at the time the trigger engages thetrip is un important since having hooked the latter the lever will bepositively operated to operate the signal.

The springs 3, 5, or either of them, it but one is'used, aresufficiently strong to hold the lever E from opening the valve 11 whenthe trigger meets an obstruction and at the time the trigger moves onits pivot relatively to said lever.

By constructing the trip of two separable parts it may be more easilyand readily packed because separate parts can beplaced in a small spaceand shipping space is likewise economized. But oi. greater importance isthe fact that the parts .do not require special fastening parts topermit them The parts can be assembled in a moment when required foruse.

As distinguished from my former application referred to I herein requireless heavy structures and the device is more simple.

Furthermore, the lever operated by the trip in the present case isjointed through the use of the trigger so that obstructions can be moreeasily avoided by passing over them.

The manner of signaling trains by means of something applied to the railas commonly used are not always positive in results but the type ofmechanism I provide is productive of the most positive results inpractice.

Changes of one kind or another may be resorted to in the production ofthe mechanism that lie within the scope of the invention and the meaningof the claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A signaling apparatus fortrains including inits construction a depending pivotally mounted lever,a chamber for a fluid under pressure having a pair of conduits connectedinto it and having a dividing diaphragm. between said conduits provided'with an aperture, a valve normally and elas- 2.15 signaling apparatusfor trains in-v cluding in its construction a pivotally mounted leverhaving a pendent extension overhanging a track rail arranged to have.pivotal movement in its own plane, the plane of the rail, and that ofthe lever and adapted also to have slight movement longitudinally withrespect to said lever, the latter and the extension having cooperatingparts adapted' to holdthem normally relatively rigid whereby'saidextension is prevented from accidentally swinging on said lever, saidparts adapted to permit said extension Whenstruck to move relatively tothe lever to an unlimited extent in both directions in a singlegivenplane.

'3. A signaling apparatus for trains including in its construction asignal operating pivotally mounted lever having a pendent extensionarranged to have pivotal movement in its own plane and that of the leverand adapted to have slight movement longitudinally with respect to saidlever the lever having a notch between its pivot and the pivot of theextension, the latter having a pin to engage in said notch.

l; A signahng apparatus for trams 1ncluding in its construction a signaloperat-, ing' pivotally mounted lever having a pendent extension, thelatter and the lever having provision for the movement of one relativelyto the other in a longitudinal direction, the lever having a notch, theextension having a pin to engage in the same for holding the partsnormally rigid relatively but adapted to permit the said extension whenstruck to have movement relatively to the lever.

5. A signaling apparatus for trains including in its construction apivotally mounted lever having a pivotally attached pendent extensionnormally rigid with the main portion of the lever but adapted to moverelatively to the latter when engaged by an obstruction, said extensionhaving hook at its end and a part overhanging it and spaced therefromcreating a recess between it and said hook.

6. The combination in a signaling device for trains, of mechanismincluding in its construction a. suspended member arranged to be swung,a Pendent portion pivotally hung therefrom adapted to swing to twoextreme positions with respect to said member, and cooperating partsearried by the membe' and said portion adapted to hold the latternormally midway between its extreme position of movement for preventingaccidental movement but likewise adapted to permit its movement whenstriking an obstacle.

7. The combination in a signaling device for trains, of mechanismincluding in its construction a support, a portion pivotally suspendedtherefrom, having the form of a hook, the parts of said hook beingdisposed substantially at right angles to one another.

8. The combination in a signaling device for trains, oi mechanismincluding in its construction a support, a portion pivotally suspendedtherefrom having the l'orm ol' a hook, the parts of said hook beingdisposed at right angles to one another, said portion having a rigidextension overhanging and spaced from the extremity of said hook.

9. The combination in a signaling device for t'ains, of mechanismincluding in its construction a support, a portion pivotally suspendedtherefrom having the form of a. hook and provided with an extensionoverhanging a-nd spaced from the extremity of such hook.

10. The combination in a signaling device, of mechanism including in itsconstruction a support adapted to be swung, and a portion pivotallysuspended from it having a hook at its lower extremity and an extensionoverhanging and spaced 'lilOlll the extremity of said hook.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

\Vitnesses IRWIN L. FULLER, L. M. 'liIUnLow.

